Basketball Game Preview: Essex Trojans vs. Westmoreland Eagles

The Essex Trojans will venture away from home to challenge the Westmoreland Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Essex is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Lancaster: they outscored them in every quarter. Essex enjoyed a cozy 39-22 victory over Lancaster on Thursday.

Morgan Self

Rebounds

01/16/25 @ Lancaster	14
01/14/25 vs Colonial Beach	8
01/13/25 @ King & Queen Central	23
12/12/24 @ James Monroe	9
12/10/24 vs Charles City	10

Morgan Self and Makiryn Williams were among the main playmakers for Essex as the former dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds and the latter posted six points along with ten boards and five steals. Self is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last 21 games she's played dating back to last season. Aryeon Robinson was another key player, putting up ten points in addition to five rebounds and four steals.

Essex smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 26 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Westmoreland waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They walked away with a 44-31 win over the Raiders. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 148th, while the Raiders are ranked 338th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Westmoreland pushed their record up to 10-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Essex, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.

Everything went Essex's way against Westmoreland in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as Essex made off with a 52-29 victory. In that game, Essex amassed a halftime lead of 26-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.